Jadhav case: ICJ asks India to make submission by Sept 13, Pak by Dec 13

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has asked India to make its submission in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case by September 13, the Ministry of External Affairs said today and debunked Pakistan’s claim that its request seeking more time in case had been rejected.

Pakistan has been asked by the court to complete its submission by December 13 this year, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

Asked about Pakistan’s claim that India’s request for more time in the case has been rejected by the ICJ, Baglay said it was not true as India had sought four months and had got that with the court fixing the deadline in September.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali was quoted by Dawn News as saying that, India had asked the ICJ to offer it time till December to file pleadings in the Jadhav case, however, “the court has dismissed their request”.

“India had adopted the stance that the matter was one of life and death, but Pakistan had stated that the ICJ is not a court of appeals. The ICJ is supposed to conclude whether or not Jadhav can receive consular access, for which a time period of two to three months is more than enough to file a response,” he said.

Baglay said the timelines had been decided in the June 8 meeting ICJ President Ronny Abraham had with agents of the two countries. Asked if the hearing in the case would begin after the submissions of the two countries, Baglay said the court will decide if it needs more submissions and then take a call on the future course of action.

In a hearing of the case on May 18, a 10-member bench of the ICJ restrained Pakistan from executing 46-year-old Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer who has been awarded death sentence by a Pakistan army court for alleged “involvement in espionage and terrorist activities in Pakistan”.

India moved the ICJ against the death sentence on May 8, describing the charges against Jadhav as “concocted” and his trial as “farcical”.